Colonels earn a third consecutive trip to the state playoffs

October 27 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com

Cass football started fast Friday night and kept their foot on the gas pedal in a surprising blowout of visiting 10th-ranked Calhoun at Cochran Stadium.

Cass quarterback Brodie McWhorter accounted for four total touchdowns and running back Braylon Hill had a breakout game as the Colonels built a 31-7 lead through three quarters. The two teams traded scores in the fourth quarter with Cass holding on for a 52-29 win.

The Colonels’ victory secured their third consecutive state playoff berth in Class 5A and it ended a string of 23 straight playoff appearances for the Yellow Jackets.

A creative opening kickoff return by the Colonels helped set the tone for the night. Calhoun pooch-kicked to Cass up-back Elijah Slocum around the 25-yard line attempting to avoid dangerous returner Sacovie White. Slocum immediately fired a lateral back to White at the 10-yard line as the Colonels’ return team set up a wall along the right sideline. White returned the kick to the Yellow Jackets 41-yard line before being shoved out of bounds. The exciting and successful play gave Cass an early emotional lift.

Just a few plays later, McWhorter connected with White for a 4-yard touchdown that gave the Colonels a 7-0 lead with 10:22 left in the initial period.

Calhoun marched right back down the field on their first possession to knot the score with 6:18 to go in the first quarter. Caden Williams, from a Wildcat formation, finished the Yellow Jackets drive with a 3-yard run making the score 7-7.

The second Cass possession ended on the first play of the second quarter. McWhorter’s 18-yard scamper on a bootleg keeper put the Colonels up by a touchdown with 11:51 showing in the second quarter. Austin McArthur converted the second of his seven successful PAT kicks to give Cass a 14-7 lead.

After stopping Calhoun on their next possession, Cass engineered another scoring drive to take a 21-7 lead with 3:33 left in the half. Gambling a bit on a fourth down play at the Calhoun 9-yard line, McWhorter scrambled to his right and found White sprinting across the back line of the end zone.

The Colonels got the ball back one more time before the intermission and drove to the Yellow Jackets’ 10-yard line. McArthur made a 26-yard field goal with 1:11 remaining in the half giving Cass a 24-7 advantage.

A short kickoff gave Calhoun a final chance to get on the scoreboard before the break, but the Jackets missed a 42-yard field goal attempt as time expired in the first half.

Both Calhoun and Cass had time-consuming possessions in the third quarter. The Colonels’ defense stiffened to stop Calhoun on downs in the first half of the third period. Then Cass drove for another touchdown with McWhorter completing the drive on a 1-yard keeper. The touchdown gave the Colonels a 31-7 lead with 1:21 remaining in the third quarter.

The Yellow Jackets raced back down the field on their ensuing possession and scored on the first play of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Trey Townsend hit Bryant Arnold for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 11:50 remaining in the game. A two-point conversion attempt failed leaving Cass with a 31-13 lead.

The first of three onside kickoff attempts by Calhoun in the fourth quarter gave Cass good field position for their next scoring drive. Hill, who had a fumble recovery and rushed for 136 yards on 21 attempts in the game, capped the Cass drive with the first of his two touchdown runs. His 18-yard jaunt with 8:46 left in the game put the Colonels ahead 38-13.

Again, Calhoun scored quickly. A long pass completion from Townsend to Emaree Winston set up a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Williams. The Jackets added a two-point conversion pass cutting the Cass lead to 38-21 with 7:25 left.

The Colonels responded with back-to-back touchdowns to put the game away.

Hill weaved his way through traffic for a 26-yard touchdown with 3:18 to play and Jachai Baldwin returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown that gave Cass a 52-21 lead with 2:38 left in the game.

Calhoun’s Cohen Chadwick caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Townsend with 2:01 remaining in the game. The pass was deflected by two different Cass defenders before it was collected and run in for a touchdown by Chadwick. He then caught a two-point conversion pass making the score 52-29.

One final onside kickoff attempt by Calhoun was recovered by the Cass hands team and the Colonels were able to run out the clock.

Unofficially, McWhorter finished 11-for-17 passing for 154 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 11 times for 87 yards and two more scores.

White had five catches for 37 yards and two touchdowns. He also had one rushing attempt for six yards.

Devin Henderson had 17 carries for 79 yards. Chase Tatum caught three passes for 66 yards and Colton Cotton had one reception for 53 yards.

In all, the Colonels rushed for 308 yards and totaled 462 yards.

Cass (5-5) will have a bye week before going on the road for the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs at Kell on November 10. The Longhorns, who close out their regular season slate this Friday (Nov. 3) at Chattahoochee, have already secured the Region 6-5A championship.